Isabella Rossellini

"[I'm] very happy that way. Many women depend on men socially, financially, psychologically. Not me." -Isabella Rossellini, on being single.

Daughter of film icons Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, Isabella Rossellini achieved great modeling success as the face of Lancome. She then had a prolific film career, starting with Blue Velvet (1986). One of her most recent appearances was in The Saddest Music in the World (2003), and she has a recurring role on TV's Alias.

SEX APPEAL

As the offspring of a torrid celebrity liaison herself, it's only natural that Isabella Rossellini oozes sex appeal -- and that it can get her into trouble. In 1995, Empire magazine named her the 84th sexiest film star in history, after she'd already had many well-publicized relationships with such notables as Martin Scorsese, Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Lynch, and Gary Oldman.

Her cosmopolitan upbringing means that Isabella is equally fluent in Italian, French and English, and no one ever lost sex appeal by knowing a few Romance languages. In spite of that, and her still-apparent beauty, Isabella's a two-time divorce, and isn't looking for a man to make her happy.

SUCCESS

Isabella Rossellini's accomplishments are impressive. She was a successful model, culminating in her long stint as the face of Lancome. As if that weren't enough, she's had an equally distinguished second career as an actress, appearing in dozens of films over the last 25 years and earning an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Blue Velvet (1986).

Staying in the public eye for so long, and in so many ways, means that Isabella's fame has always been high. But even if she hadn't made a name for herself, Isabella would be famous as the daughter of master film director Roberto Rossellini and screen legend Ingrid Bergman. Her illustrious film career and fascinating life led Isabella to publish an autobiography called Some of Me.

Isabella Rossellini Biography

Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini was born in Rome on June 18, 1952. The cinematic equivalent of royalty, she is the daughter of screen legend Ingrid Bergman and master director Roberto Rossellini. Isabella has a fraternal twin sister, Ingrid Aborne, and an elder brother, Roberto; she also has a half-sister, Pia Lindstrom.

Growing up, Isabella had serious health problems. She suffered from scoliosis (progressive curvature of the spine), which necessitated surgery to correct the problem when she was 13. Her recovery took more than a year, as she was bedridden in a body cast.

isabella rossellini does lancome

Isabella's stunning good looks were apparent soon after, but she didn't seem eager to follow in the footsteps of her famous film parents -- at least not yet. Following a stint as a TV journalist in Europe, Isabella turned to modeling, a career in which she would be successful for decades to come. Her most famous job was as the spokeswoman and main model for Lancome cosmetics.

isabella rossellini in blue velvet

While her modeling career was in full swing, Isabella inadvertently found herself becoming a movie star like her mother Ingrid Bergman. At first, she appeared opposite her mother and Liza Minnelli in A Matter of Time (1976), but she went on to appear in other Italian films, such as 1979's Il Prato (a.k.a. The Meadow) and 1981's Il Pap'occhio (a.k.a. In the Pope's Eyes).

Fittingly, Isabella married director Martin Scorsese in 1979; but the marriage didn't work out, and they were divorced in 1983.

Isabella's second career as an actress took off in the mid-1980s. She appeared in David Lynch's acclaimed film Blue Velvet, which was a risk to her Lancome job due to the film's strong and risqu sexual content. But the move paid off spectacularly: Isabella garnered much praise, and even an Independent Spirit Award as Best Female Lead, while her profile increased dramatically.

isabella is wild at heart and fearless

She's had an impressive career from then on. Her many credits include Wild at Heart (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992), Fearless (1993), Wyatt Earp (1994), Immortal Beloved (1994), Big Night (1996), the made-for-TV movies The Odyssey (1997) and Merlin (1998), The Imposters (1998), Roger Dodger (2002), Empire (2002), and The Saddest Music in the World (2003).

On television, she has appeared on Tales from the Crypt, Friends (as herself), and Chicago Hope (the role earned her an Emmy nomination), and she even lent her voice to The Simpsons; most recently, she's been cast as Katya Derevko, Sydney Bristow's (played by Jennifer Garner) aunt on Alias.

isabella rossellini and her men

Throughout this time, Isabella also gained notoriety for her glamorous (if unstable) personal life. In addition to Martin Scorsese, Isabella also married and divorced model Jonathan Wiedemann, with whom she had a daughter, Elettra-Ingrid. Isabella also has an adopted son, Roberto.

Her other famous paramours have included David Lynch, whom Isabella dated through the late 1980s, and Gary Oldman, to whom she was allegedly engaged in 1994, but the two split up. Still single, Isabella reportedly likes it that way.

isabella launches my manifesto

These days, Isabella still does some modeling, but she is more focused on her film career. She appears in three movies in 2004 -- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea, King of the Corner and Heights -- as well as a TV miniseries called Earthsea.

Another project that has come to fruition is Isabella's line of cosmetics and fragrances with the Lancaster group, "Isabella" and "My Manifesto."